Camping with the van as the tent
Motorhome and campervan
A motorhome or campervan removes the shelter problem entirely and replaces it with a vehicle problem: levelling, hookups, waste and a sealed space with a burner in it. The gear list is short on camping kit and long on the things that make a van habitable and safe.
Shelter: VehicleWho carries the weight: The vehicle carries itPower: HookupToilets and showers: YesCooking: Van galleyDrinking water: Plumbed in
Plan this tripWho it is for
Anyone touring in a motorhome, campervan or converted van.
The checklist for this trip
The full camping gear list
The packing planner already sizes 24 of these for your trip — the shelter and the cooking kit are yours to bring.
Shelter
- Turns an exposed pitch into a usable one. Bulky, so it belongs in a boot rather than on a back.
- Pure comfort, and the first thing to cut. But two nights on a damp log will change your mind about it.
Sleeping
- Match the comfort rating to the coldest night, not the average one. Comfort and limit ratings are different numbers.The planner packs this
- An inflatable one, or a dry bag stuffed with tomorrow's fleece — either beats a rolled jacket.The planner packs this
- Adds a few degrees, and it is the part you can actually wash mid-trip.
- Campsites are louder and lighter than anyone expects, and dawn arrives through nylon.The planner packs this
Kitchen and water
- Both, in separate places. A lighter fails in the wet and matches fail in the wind.
- One spork each. Bring a long-handled one if you are eating out of freeze-dried pouches.The planner packs this
- An insulated mug earns its weight: it is also your bowl, and it keeps coffee hot in wind.
- Sponge, a small bottle of soap and a drying cloth. Wash away from the water, not in it.
- A litre each, minimum. Wide-mouth bottles are the ones you can actually clean.The planner packs this
- Sealed and off the ground. Anything that smells is an invitation, from ants upwards.
- Two more than you think. They double as dry bags, wet-kit bags and an emergency groundsheet.
- The reason to get out of the bag on a cold morning. Not essential, entirely worth it.
- Dries dishes, lifts hot pots and wipes the table. One cloth doing three jobs.
Clothing
- Camping evenings are colder than the forecast, because you stop moving at six.The planner packs this
- Taped seams and a hood. Water-resistant is not waterproof once it has rained for an hour.The planner packs this
- Something to put on when the boots come off. Wet boots dry overnight; wet feet do not.
- There is no shade on most pitches, and you are outdoors from dawn to dusk.The planner packs this
- One more pair of socks than days. Dry socks are the cheapest morale there is.The planner packs this
- A cotton towel never dries in a tent, and by day three it is the wettest thing you own.The planner packs this
Light and power
- One each, not one shared. Both hands free is the entire point of wearing it.The planner packs this
- Headlamps point away from you; a lantern is what makes the tent a room after dark.
- Cold halves battery life, so a winter night eats what a summer one would not.
- Check the airline's cabin rules before you fly with it — it can never go in the hold.The planner packs this
- One more than devices. Cables are what actually gets lost, not chargers.The planner packs this
- Twenty-five metres, and check whether the site's hookup needs a blue camping plug.
Hygiene
- Decanted into small bottles. Full-size bottles are most of what makes a wash bag heavy.The planner packs this
- Between the tap and the food there is often nowhere to wash. This is that gap.The planner packs this
- A wash when there is no shower. Pack them out — none of them are flushable, whatever the box says.
- Shared shower blocks are shared shower blocks. Two euros, no regrets.
Safety and first aid
- Plasters, antiseptic, painkillers, tweezers, tape. Check the dates before every trip, not after.The planner packs this
- In its labelled box, plus a photo of the prescription. Two days more than the trip.The planner packs this
- Check what bites where you are going: midges, mosquitoes and ticks want different things.The planner packs this
- You are outdoors all day, including the overcast ones. Reapply after swimming and after sweating.The planner packs this
- A van or cabin fire moves in seconds, and the exit is behind the hob.
- A sealed van with any burner in it needs one. There is no way to notice CO without it.
Tools and repairs
- Cabin baggage will not take the blade — it goes in the hold or it gets confiscated.The planner packs this
- Wrap a metre around a water bottle rather than carrying the roll.
- Plus the pump and the wheel tools. A flat somewhere remote is the trip, not an incident.
- A van that is not level has a fridge that does not work and a bed you roll out of.
Documents and money
- Most sites ask for it at check-in, and a photo on your phone is not always accepted.The planner packs this
- Downloaded, not streamed. Campsite reception is exactly where the signal disappears.The planner packs this
- Check it covers the activity — plenty of policies exclude anything they call mountaineering.The planner packs this
- Small notes and coins: showers, laundry and barriers are often coin-operated and offline.The planner packs this
Three things worth doing
- Level the van before anything else. An absorption fridge does not work off-level, and neither does sleeping.
- Fit and test a carbon monoxide alarm. In a sealed space with any burner it is the one item there is no substitute for.
- Fill fresh water and empty waste at every opportunity, not when you need to. Service points are where you are not.
What catches people out
- Height and weight limits catch out more vans than anything else — check both before the barrier, not at it.
- Many town centres and coastal roads ban overnight parking in a motorhome even where camping is otherwise legal.
Questions people ask
Less than you think, but the outdoor half stays: chairs, a windbreak, an outside light and waterproofs. What goes is shelter and sleep, which is most of the weight.
For more than two nights, usually yes. A leisure battery covers lights and a fridge for a day or two; anything with a heating element needs the post.
The gear above is yours to bring. The clothes, the toiletries and the tech are what the planner is for — it sizes them for the length of the trip, the weather and how many of you are going.
Now size the rest
Let the planner pack the clothes
The gear above is yours to bring. The clothes, the toiletries and the tech are what the planner is for — it sizes them for the length of the trip, the weather and how many of you are going.